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"This represents a significant complication," the controller says. "I had previously envisioned several scenarios by which we could acquire the cog, not including some sort of savage brawl. Trade and theft both occurred, as did the twin possibilities of convincing these people their god was false and convincing them it was real and we spoke for it.

"But Losh plainly intends to turn this into some kind of referendum on his master's Ziggurat. We cannot lose these people to Stralchus. If these people turn to Stralchus, it may tip the balance of power between the False Icon and the mystic. Any attack by Stralchus against the 'enemies of the Icons' will include an attack upon us."